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Ollie Watkins hit a quick double when Aston Villa stunned Arsenal at Emirates Stadium to get back on the winning track.
Dean Smith’s team recorded a famous win over Premier League champions Liverpool earlier in the season and it proved that it was more than just once, as they outscored the Gunners to leave North London with a 3-0 win. -0.
Watkins, who had helped himself to a hat-trick against Liverpool, scored a second-half double to add to Bukayo Saka’s own goal, and Villa was also unlucky to see a goal disallowed. in the first minute when Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley shone in midfield. .
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had been calling for consistency after winning at Manchester United last weekend, but will be left scratching his head at the international break after the worst performance of his tenure to date.
It was a quiet return to Arsenal for goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who left for Villa Park in the summer, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang endured another frustrating 90 minutes.
The result takes Villa up to sixth place in the table, three points off the top and with one game less on all seven sides above them, while Arsenal are 11th after a fourth defeat of the campaign. .
Full match details
Villa thought they had opened the scoring with just 48 seconds left when John McGinn brilliantly whipped home from inside the area.
However, the goal was eventually ruled out after a lengthy VAR control found Ross Barkley to have been thrown offside and blocked Bernd Leno’s view of the shot.
Having seen his goal scored in chalk, McGinn nearly presented the hosts with the lead when his under-hit backpass saw Thomas Partey burst in, only for Martinez to react quickly and run from his line to save.
Arsenal were struggling to keep things tight at the rear and Villa would soon take the lead as Grealish and Barkley combined to free Matt Targett, whose low center was turned into his own net at the back post by Saka.
Arteta’s team continued to work hard, unable to test Martinez before the interval when Alexandre Lacazette headed a Kieran Tierney cross over the bar from seven yards.
Arsenal’s task was made more difficult when they had to remove Partey at half-time, as the summer signing suffered a thigh injury in his previous meeting with Martinez.
Villa started the second half as they had played much of the first and were soon back on Arsenal’s goal, this time Leno deflected a shot from Trezeguet behind for a corner shortly after the restart.
Grealish was the next to stop Leno, who didn’t seem to know much about how to salvage Captain Villa’s sharp attack.
Arteta turned to her bench and introduced Eddie Nketiah and Nicolas Pepe in place of the ineffective duo Willan and Lacazette.
Pepe, who has scored two of two in the Europa League, came close to equalizing with a curly shot that deflected from the post.
Despite Arsenal looking to add a vanguard, Villa would soon end the game in a brilliant three-minute spell.
First, a good pass from Douglas Luiz caught Barkley, whose cross was headed by Watkins from close range.
It could have been worse for the hosts if Dani Ceballos hadn’t been in the right place to clear Grealish’s goal off the line with the Arsenal defense at sea.
But it would prove only a brief respite, as Watkins would double his tally for the night, coldly finishing above Leno after more good work from Grealish.
Arsenal were unable to muster a reaction in the final stages, as Villa claimed a fourth clean sheet of the season in the league, just one less than he achieved in the entire 2019-20 campaign.
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